Big Sister Angelica
by swagtag
Summary: Angelica Pickles was always the center of her parents' world, but when a new arrival barges into her life, she fears that she is going to be replaced.
1. Angelica's New Sister

From the way Charlotte Pickles was chattering away on her cell-phone, you wouldn't get the impression that she had just given birth to her second child. Her hair was a little frizzier than usual, but she still wore her business-like makeup, she appeared far more presentable than most women wheeled out of maternity wards.

From the way Angelica Pickles scowled as she trudged as well as her unsteady two year old legs would allow her, you wouldn't get the impression that she had just gotten a new little friend to play with. Angelica was not happy one bit about being a big sister. She just knew that the little diaper-clad crying-addict would get all of Mommy and Daddy's attention, all the new toys, all the new clothes... All the stuff that SHOULD be going to Angelica.

The unhappy toddler's Aunt DeeDee and Uncle Stu were in the waiting room, her two month old cousin, Tommy in his mother's arms. None of them even glanced at Angelica as they rushed over to peer into the bundle of blankets in Charlotte's hold. "So?" DeeDee asked excitedly. "Boy or girl?"

"A girl," Drew said.

The baby girl had small sprigs of brown hair, like her father's, and blue eyes like her mother and big sister's.

DeeDee handed Tommy off to Stu and started digging around in her bag, she retrieved a brand new pacifier for the baby.

Angelica huffed, almost as loudly as that wolf in the storybook her dad read to her once. Just as she expected, this little half-pint was going to get all the shiny new toys, while Angelica was going to have to make do with old junk.

"And I didn't forget about the big sister," DeeDee chimed, reaching into her bag once more. She handed Angelica a pink box which contained a blonde doll in an orange dress.

"Cookie," Angelica said in thanks, as it was the only word she knew at this point. She was expecting praise from her aunt and uncle, as this would be the first time they heard her actually speak, but instead, they went right back to cooing at the new arrival.

"Have you thought of a name, yet?" asked Uncle Stu.

"Amelia," Charlotte answered, pausing her phone call for just a second to do so.

Angelica's frown deepened. Amelia sounded almost like Angelica! They really WERE going to replace her!

Amelia had been in the house for a few weeks now, and Angelica had had it. Daddy didn't play with her anymore, all he did was fuss around with her brunette usurper. Angelica was supposed to be his little princess, not that drooley baby! She didn't understand why her parents were so enamored by somebody like Amelia. Angelica could do so many things, she could walk, she could talk, she didn't use her pants as a toilet, but Amelia just kind of laid there.

Since her parents were so fascinated with the baby, Angelica had turned to her new doll, which she named Cynthia, for company instead.

"When do you think that stupid baby's gonna shut her mouth up?" Angelica asked her plastic companion.

Amelia had been crying for a really long time now, Angelica figured that it must have been two forevers since the last time the house was quiet.

"Do something, Drew!" Charlotte instructed, the baby's wails had interrupted a very important phone call of hers.

"I'm trying, Charlotte!" Drew replied. "I just don't know what's wrong! She's not hungry, her diaper's clean, I gave her her pacifier, nothing works!"

Amelia's cries grew louder now. No longer were they the cries of a baby in need of something, they were the cries of a baby frustrated that nobody was understanding her.

"Look in one of the books DeeDee gave us!" Charlotte pleaded. "Just get her to quiet down!"

Drew walked off to look for the LipSchitz books his sister-in-law had loaned to him.

Angelica toddled over to the changing table where Amelia lay. She gave the infant a look which said 'I'm the boss here, got it?' If she was going to have to live with a diaper-bag, she needed to make sure it was aware of the rules.

The baby continued wailing. Angelica frowned deeply. "Why won't you just be quiet, you stupid baby?" she grouched.

Amelia waved her hand about in the air, and Angelica was grateful the younger girl wasn't holding anything, because if she was, she surely would have smacked her big sister on the head.

There was something ON Amelia's hand though. A drop of that yucky, mushed up junk that big people make babies eat.

"I can't believe you eat that stuff," Angelica grimaced. She grabbed a wipe from the container on the side of the table and scrubbed the gross baby food away. Afterward, the baby in question stopped crying.

"Really?" Angelica said, almost in disbelief. "That was all that was wrong?" Leave it to a dumb baby to get all worked up over nothing.

That evening, Angelica threw a tantrum over having to eat broccoli.

Amelia watched and thought to herself, 'leave it to a growed up to get all worked up over nothing.'


	2. Meeting The Rugrats

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Amelia was SUCH a brat, in Angelica's honest opinion. She had thought it the day that baby crash-landed into her life, and she still thought it today, after all this time.

Angelica's third birthday party had even been wrecked thanks to Amelia. She hadn't been able to have anyone come over because Amelia's 'emu system' was still weak and Mommy and Daddy didn't want to risk her getting sick. So, it was just Mommy, Daddy, Angelica and Amelia. But, then the baby had started fussing and Mommy and Daddy spent time with HER instead.

And now, Angelica was going to be drug off to her Aunt DeeDee's house to spend time with her little cousin and his dumb baby friends.

"It's important for Amelia to get to know her big cousin, pumpkin," Daddy said to Angelica's pouting face. "She's finally old enough that we can bring her out without worrying about her catching something."

"Can't she meet him some other time?" Angelica begged. "Like, when my cartoons aren't on?"

"It's been a while since you've seen Tommy, you wouldn't want him to forget about you, would you?"

Angelica sighed, staring out the car window. "He can remember me AFTER the Super Spy Cynthia show..."

Amelia squirmed in her car-seat next to Angelica, she started to whimper.

"Pipe down, brat," Angelica hissed.

Amelia frowned. She didn't understand why her big sister was always so mean and grouchy to her. Amelia always tried to be nice to Angelica. She'd throw toys in the older girl's direction in an invitation to play, but only receive a scowl in return.

Amelia watched the scenery pass by from her rear-facing car-seat. She didn't know what a 'cousin' was, but she hoped that 'cousins' were nicer than sisters.

Amelia was placed in a large playpen in the living room, next to another baby. This baby wore nothing but a blue T-shirt and diaper, and he didn't have even the tiniest sprig of hair. Amelia stared at the other baby curiously. Was he what a 'cousin' was?

The other baby was always eyeing her curiously, his expression inquisitive. "Are you Amelia?" he asked her.

"Uh-huh," Amelia responded shyly. "Are you the 'cousin'?"

"I fink so," the baby said. "My name is Tommy."

Amelia glanced around, "You know Angelica?"

"Yeah."

"Is she always so... so..." Amelia didn't know how she wanted to phrase this. "You know, mean?"

"Pretty much," Tommy shrugged.

Soon, another baby arrived. He had big purple glasses, a blue shirt and green shorts. He also had a mop of fuzzy, unkempt red hair, which made Amelia start to laugh.

"What's so funny?" the new boy asked.

"You look like a clown," Amelia giggled.

The new boy immediately flew into a panic, "WHERE!?" he cried.

"Chuckie, it's okay!" Tommy placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, turning to give Amelia a sour look.

Amelia frowned, she hadn't meant to make anyone upset. 'Oh no!' she thought. 'What if I'm going to turn mean like Angelica!?'

Amelia put on her best determined face. She wouldn't let that happen. If her words were hurting people, she just wouldn't say any. That was that.

Finally, two more babies arrived. They looked almost exactly alike, except one wore shorts, and the other had a bow in her hair. "Hi Tommy, hi Chuckie," the pair said in unison.

"Hi Phil, hi Lil," Tommy and Chuckie waved.

The boy, Phil noticed Amelia sitting in the corner of the playpen by herself. "Is this your new cousin, Tommy?"

"Yeah, her name's Amelia."

"Hi, Amelia."

Amelia said nothing.

"Amelia?" Phil repeated.

Nothing.

"Um... Tommy?" Lil asked. "Is your new cousin broked?"

"I don't fink so," Tommy shook his head. "She's just kind of quiet is all."

"Heelllooo?" Lil sang out. "Earth to Amelia!"

Amelia said nothing.

"Feh," Phil shrugged. "I guess I'd be pretty quiet too if I had to share a house with Angelica."

As the other babies played with one another, Amelia stayed in her corner. Part of her wanted to join in, but the other part was too afraid that they wouldn't like her. She was Angelica's sister after all, and she was getting the distinct impression these babies weren't too fond of the older girl.

Speaking of, Angelica stomped into the playpen, "Alright, you dumb babies, listen up! I'm losing my cartoon time because of you, and I'm NOT happy about it!"

"Leave us alone, Angelica," Tommy said.

"Hmmm..." Angelica tapped her chin, considering. "No, I don't think I will." She noticed Amelia in the corner. "Hey! Why aren't you dummies letting my sister play with you?"

"We tried," Phil explained. "But she just stayed there."

Angelica yanked Amelia up by the arm, "If I see you stupid babies ignoring Amelia again, you're gonna get it! Now, play with her!"

Amelia started to tear up. Now the other babies REALLY weren't going to like her. Not if they were just being FORCED to play with her! She put her hands over her eyes to dry her tears.

"STOP CRYING!" Angelica ordered her, stomping off.

Tommy looked at Amelia, "You don't gotta play with us if you don't wanna."

"Don't worry, I'll leave you guys alone," Amelia promised, toddling back to her corner.

"But why DON'T you wanna play with us, though?" Chuckie asked.

"'Cause you guys don't like me," Amelia explained.

"What?" Tommy asked. "How come you think that?"

"'Cause I'm Angelica's sister and you don't like her."

"Well, yeah," Phil shrugged. "But you're NOT Angelica. So, come play with us."

Amelia had a great time playing with her big cousin and his friends, until Phil and Lil did something that kind of upset her. Phil took some mud and a worm out of his pocket and showed it to her.

"Ewwww," she whined.

"Gimme the wormy!" Lil yelled.

"No, Lilian!" Phil shouted back. "I found it! It's mine."

"Gimme it, Phillip!"

"No!"

The twins pounced on each other, and started to wrestle for ownership of the coveted worm. Phil tried to throw the mud in his hand at Lil, but hit Amelia instead.

Amelia stared at the icky mud on her arm. It was so sticky and gross! She hated it! She burst into tears, crying loudly.

Angelica stormed back over, "What did you diaper bags do NOW!?" she shouted at them. She noticed the mud on Amelia. "Ugh, come on, Amelia." She took her little sister into the bathroom, wet a washcloth, and started to clean her off. "See? It comes right off, keep your diaper on!"

Amelia sniffed a bit and wiped her eyes, "Fank you, Angelica," she said, hugging her sister.

"Ew, baby germs," Angelica scoffed, pushing the younger girl away.


	3. The Makeover

Amelia was confused. One second, Angelica was mean, the next she was helpful and nice, only to go right back to her usual cold self. She was starting to doubt that Angelica's behavior could be chalked up to older sisters just being unfriendly. Lil was a couple minutes older than Phil, but aside from a few arguments, they were obviously the best of friends.

Maybe Angelica was mean because Amelia wasn't a good little sister? Maybe, if she acted more like Phil, Angelica would start acting like Lil! Amelia could see it now, herself and Angelica playing together, talking with each other, and becoming inseparable friends.

Yes. She just needed to follow Phil and Lil's example.

But, now the problem was she didn't really know HOW to do that. Every time she was brought over to play with the other babies, she paid very close attention to the twins' activities, and tried to mimic them to the best of her ability. But, she hated getting all muddy, and the idea of eating one of those squirmy little bugs wasn't the least bit appealing.

On the bright side, she was starting to get along better with Chuckie. He was fun to play with, especially since he was kind of timid, like she was. "Do you have any big sisters?" Amelia asked him one day.

Chuckie shook his head, "No, it's just me and my Daddy."

"Don't you got a Mommy?"

Chuckie shook his head.

"How come?"

Chuckie shrugged, "I dunno...I just don't got one."

"Oh..." Amelia said. Sometimes, it seemed like her Mommy wasn't really there since she always so busy, but she couldn't imagine NEVER having her around.

"Do you got any Reptar stuff?" Chuckie asked.

Amelia shook her head, "What's Reptar?" Most of her toys were hand-me-downs from Angelica, such as princess-themed rattles or toy mirrors.

"You've never heard of Reptar before?" Chuckie wondered, shocked. "Reptar is a big dinosaur that saves people." Chuckie crawled to the other end of the playpen and retrieved a plush dinosaur. The dinosaur was a lime green, with reddish eyes. "This is Reptar."

Amelia took the dinosaur and hugged it. "I like him, he's cute."

Phil approached, "He's not a-posed to be cute! He's a giga-mic dinosaur!"

"Reptar can too be cute, Phillip!" Lil said.

"Can not, Lilian!"

Before they could fight, Amelia stopped them. "Lil, I've been wanting to ask you something... How do you be a good sister?"

Phil shrugged, "By not being Angelica."

Amelia frowned, "I really want Angelica to like me, but everything I do just makes her mad."

Tommy turned to them, "Angelica just gets mad a lot," he said. "That's how she is."

"But isn't there anything I can do?" Amelia asked. "How do you make Phil happy after you've fought?"

"I bring him a worm," Lil said.

"And that works?"

"Every time."

The next afternoon, when Angelica was being her usual aloof self, Amelia decided to put Lil's advice into action. It wasn't very fun digging the worm out of the dirt, but if Lil thought this would help, she knew it would be worth it. She grabbed the worm, and toddled over to the lawn chair Angelica was in.

"What do you want, diaper-bag?" Angelica asked, frowning.

"I brung you something," Amelia said, feeling the worm wriggling in her grasp.

"Better be good," Angelica said. "Give it here."

Amelia placed the worm in Angelica's lap. Angelica screamed and stood up. "Why would you do that?" she snarled, running into the house. "DADDY!" she wailed.

Amelia sighed. It seemed that whenever she tried to make things improve, they just got worse.

The next day, Amelia was determined to turn things around. Amelia had a great plan. Angelica's most favorite thing was that doll of hers, Cynthia. Amelia was going to make Cynthia nice and pretty! She wandered into Angelica's room, and found the doll laying on the fluffy bedspread. Finding some safety scissors on the floor, she set to work.

A while later, Angelica was tearing the whole house apart in a panic. She couldn't find her beloved doll anywhere. Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes. Cynthia was her best friend, her favorite toy in the whole world. She couldn't be gone! She sniffled, and scrubbed at her tears with a sleeve.

"I'm sure Cynthia will turn up, pumpkin," Daddy comforted, though it did little to make Angelica feel better.

"What if she doesn't?" Angelica cried. She started to sob.

"Have you checked your room yet?"

Angelica ran off into her bedroom, and a couple seconds later her bloodcurdling scream shook the whole house.

"What's wrong?" Daddy asked, tearing into the room in a panic. "Are you okay?"

Sobbing harder than ever now, Angelica pointed into the corner of the room. Amelia sat, holding Cynthia, except Cynthia didn't look like herself anymore. She was missing a lot of her hair, several bald patches clearly visible. What remained of her blonde locks stuck straight up at odd angles.

Daddy took the doll from Amelia's hands, "Oh, it's not that bad, Angelica."

Angelica just kept crying. "She did this on purpose!"

"No she didn't," Daddy assured. "She didn't know what she was doing, I'm sure she wasn't trying to upset you." He held out his hand for Angelica. "Come on, I'm sure a cookie will make you feel better."

As Angelica and Daddy walked off, Amelia frowned. All she had been trying to do was make Cynthia look prettier... She had imagined Angelica's face lighting up with a bright smile when she saw her little sister's handiwork. She had hoped Angelica would be so happy Amelia had taken the time to do something like that for her...

The next day, Daddy brought Amelia and Angelica to the park. Angelica sulked on a bench next to her ruined doll, while Amelia played in a sandbox.

Angelica couldn't believe Amelia would do something like that! She knew how important Cynthia was! They had barely spoken since the incident, and whatever words Angelica DID say were far from pleasant.

As she dangled her feet solemnly, a couple of older girls walked by. They looked to be around six years old. "Are you okay?" one of them asked, she had red hair,

"You look sad," her blonde friend added.

Still moping, Angelica just pointed at Cynthia.

"Wow," said the red-head. "She looks really cool!"

Angelica blinked, "Sh-she does?"

The blonde nodded, "Yeah. All the dolls at the store look the same, but yours looks different. She looks like a rockstar!"

"You think so?" Angelica asked, looking at Cynthia's hairstyle in a whole new light.

"Totally," the blonde said. "Did you do that to her yourself?"

Angelica shook her head, "No... It was... my sister."


	4. Dil

Angelica was actually being nice to Amelia lately. Amelia was overjoyed to finally have a sister that was happy with her, but the other babies were skeptical. They feared that Angelica was up to something, and that their friend would wind up getting hurt.

Amelia was insistent that Angelica had genuinely changed, but deep down she had her concerns as well. This new nice-Angelica was a complete 180 from everything Amelia had learned over the course of her short life.

Time marched forwards, Amelia and her friends went on countless adventures together. The mundane world of their backyards were transformed into fantastical lands of excitement by their imaginations.

On one visit to cousin Tommy's, he had big news for her; a girl and her family had moved in nearby, and she was coming over to play with them. The new girl was a little bit older than them, about the same age as Angelica.

Her name was Susie, she had dark curly hair and wore a yellow sundress. She didn't act like Angelica at all, she was always super nice and seemed to delight in teaching new things to the babies.

Since they were so vastly different from one another, Susie and Angelica didn't get along too well. They argued with great frequency, and nearly always became embroiled in competition with one another.

Amelia greatly admired Susie, and it seemed the other babies did as well. The girl's friendly words of encouragement could get them through the roughest of times. And there were certainly some rough times coming for them, they were going to have to face a lot of change. The biggest change came in the form of a tiny, drooling baby that was nearly always crying.

Tommy had become a big brother, and things were off to quite a rocky start. With so much of his parents time taken up by the new baby, he felt neglected and alone. Not to mention, the new baby was always trying to take his toys, or bop him on the head with a rattle.

Phil, Lil and Chuckie weren't too thrilled with the latest addition to their group either. Coming over to Tommy's house wasn't nearly as much fun as it used to be, with all the screaming it was hard to play much of anything.

Angelica was irritated as well, watching TV at Tommy's house had been rendered completely impossible. Though, having already gone through the tribulations associated with a newborn baby, she at least had an idea of what to expect this time around.

Amelia was always trying to make friends with the new baby, but since he was so little, she couldn't communicate with him at all. She still liked him, however, because his name Dil Pickles reminded her of one of her favorite foods.

The chaos brought about by Dil's entrance into the world came to a head when, one day, he set off a chain reaction that resulted in himself and all the other babies getting lost in a strange and hostile forest.

The forest was terrifying, the babies ventured through it in search of a 'lizard' that they believed could help them get back home. Amelia was covered in yucky mud, and couldn't stop crying.

"It will be otay," Phil tried to promise, but he didn't know for sure if that was true.

As the adventure continued, tensions rose, and soon everyone had decided to leave Tommy and Dil and continue on their own. While they made up a short while later, Amelia still felt terrible for abandoning her own cousins in such a spooky place.

The chaos finally came to its spine-chilling end when, the babies now joined by Angelica, were trapped on a rickety bridge, witch a vicious wolf a few steps away. The wolf was stopped by Tommy's dog Spike, and for a second the babies feared they had lost him. Luckily, he was alright, and at that moment, their parents had located them and were ready to take them home.

Being lost for so long had been terrible, and while Amelia was glad it was over, she was still scared. She kept having nightmares about that horrible wolf coming right for her. She awoke one night in tears, shaking in her crib.

Hearing her sister's cries, Angelica cracked open the door to her room. "Amelia?" she whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm still ascared," Amelia whimpered.

"You don't gottsa be scared," Angelica said, she lowered the bars of Amelia's crib in order to climb in beside her. She wrapped her arms around the younger girl, cuddling her. "I'm right here," she promised.

Amelia pulled away in shock, "Why're you being so nice to me now?"

"If you tell anyone about this, you're gonna get it," Angelica warned.


	5. A New Friend

Paris! Angelica was going to Paris! Not only that, she was going to stay in a big, fancy hotel at a ginormous amusement park! She was so excited, she could hardly wait. She wouldn't be going alone, either, all the babies were coming with her. The only member of the group that wasn't coming was Susie, and Angelica was sure to rub it in the other girl's face.

But then, just before the trip, something terrible happened. Amelia came down with an awful cold, her throat was so sore, she imagined it felt like how Fluffy's would when coughing up a hairball. Her nose was so stuffed up she could hardly breathe.

Mommy and Daddy decided it wasn't a very good idea to bring a baby to an entirely different country when she was already feeling under the weather, so Amelia was dropped off with Susie's family instead. Amelia felt just awful, not just because of the cold, but because she was being left out of such a huge adventure with her friends. She missed the other babies, and she missed her parents and sister.

"Don't be sad, Amelia," Susie said. "Everyone will be home in a few days."

Amelia explained to Susie that she felt like she was being left out of something huge. What if her friends didn't even remember her once they got back home?

"Don't worry," Susie assured. "I'm sure nothing too big will happen over there."

Amelia sighed, "I miss Angelica," she confessed.

"You do?" Susie asked, surprised. "But, she's always so mean to you."

"She can be nice sometimes," Amelia said. "Like, she always hugs me when I have a nightscare."

Susie paused, that didn't sound at all like the Angelica she was always fighting with. "C'mon, Amelia, let's go find something fun to do."

Amelia had a great time playing with Susie and her older brothers and sister, and after a while, she had all but forgotten about dumb old Paris. Susie's family was such a loving, close-knit one, that Amelia felt a little out of place at first. It was strange how Susie's mom had such an important job as a doctor, yet still spent so much time with her kids. She was so unlike Amelia's mom, always chattering away on a cell-phone, or running off to a meeting.

It didn't take long for Amelia to begin feeling right at home, though, and she was almost a little sad when her parents came to get her.

"C'mon, Diaper-Bag," Angelica said, frowning.

"Angelica!" Susie scolded. "Be nice to her!"

Angelica merely continued dragging Amelia along.

"I know you're nicer than this, Angelica!" Susie went on.

Angelica seemed to already be upset about something, "What do you know, Carmichael?"

"I know that you comfort her when she has nightmares," Susie said firmly. "You can be nice, so why don't you try?"

Angelica scowled, "Why'd you tell her?" she snapped at Amelia. "I told you not to tell anyone!"

"I'm sorry," Amelia said softly.

Susie stepped between them, "Angelica, hugging your own sister isn't something you should be ashamed of. Alisa hugs me all the time."

Angelica groaned loudly, and continued ushering Amelia away.

"Why are you all mad?" Amelia asked.

"I was apposed to get a float in a parade, but I didn't get it!" Angelica ranted.

"Oh..." Amelia said. "How come you didn't get it?"

"'Cause the lady that wanted to marry Mister Chuckie's Dad was a liar."

Amelia paused, she thought she knew what 'marry' meant, but she had to be sure. "That means Chuckie's gots a mommy, right?"

"Mm-hmm," Angelica nodded.

Amelia frowned, she really had missed out on something big after all.

"He's gots a little sister now, too," Angelica added.

Now, Amelia was really worried. A new baby had joined the group, and she'd missed the whole thing! What if the new girl was going to replace her?

It was a few days before Amelia went to the Finster's house and met the new members of Chuckie's family. Chuckie's new Mommy was super nice, and she could see why Chuckie liked her. Then, there was Chuckie's new sister. She had dark hair, and wore a yellow dress with a cat emblem on it. "Hi!" the new girl waved cheerfully. "My name is Kimi!"

"Hello, Kimi," Amelia greeted.

Kimi was a very hyper little girl, running all throughout the house and getting into every little thing she could find. This worried Chuckie a great deal, he felt that as a new big brother, he had to make sure nothing bad ever happened to Kimi.

Kimi was, perhaps, one of the nicest and friendliest babies Amelia had ever met, and they hit it off right away. Though, Kimi was a lot more outgoing and adventurous than Amelia.

Kimi, Chuckie and Amelia were gathered in the Finster's backyard. Kimi pointed up at one of the big oak trees. "I sawed a bird carrying sticks and stuff up there," she said. "It must have babies."

Amelia and Chuckie both nodded.

"I wanna see them," Kimi added.

"Well, how are we apposed to see them?" Amelia asked. "They're all the way up there."

"Like this," Kimi said simply. She grabbed hold of one of the lowest branches, and began hoisting herself up.

"Kimi, no!" Chuckie said. "You could get hurt!"

Kimi merely giggled and continued her trek.

Chuckie and Amelia looked at one another in alarm. They knew what had to be done, but they were far from being excited to do it. "You go firstest," Amelia said.

"No, you go firstest," Chuckie argued.

"Let's go together," Amelia suggested, she grabbed Chuckie's wrist in one hand and used the other to grab hold of a branch. Chuckie grabbed on as well, in this manner, they headed up the tree after the gleefully laughing Kimi.

Kimi had found the bird's nest by the time they caught up to her. She was sitting on the branch, staring at the nest confusedly. "Where're the baby birds?" she wondered, looking at the little white orbs in the nest. "All that's here is those things Mommy eats in the morning..."

"Well," Chuckie said. "We tried, come on Kimi, let's go."

Kimi didn't budge, she just kept looking at the nest.

"Kimi," Amelia tried. "We should really get back down now."

Suddenly, Kimi gasped. "Oh no, it broked!"

"What broked?" Chuckie asked, peering over her shoulder. A crack had formed on one of the eggs. "We should go, Kimi. Before that bird comes back and gets mad at us."

The crack just kept getting bigger, alarming Kimi further. "I don't want a bird mad at me!"

Finally, the tiny beak of a baby bird poked through the egg. "Lookit," Amelia said. "There's a bird in it."

Soon, the bird had emerged from the egg, and Kimi stared at in awe, "It's so cute!" she gushed.

"There," Chuckie said firmly. "You saw the bird, now lets go."

"I guess we should," Kimi admitted, turning to look down. "Why's it so high all the sudden?" she cried.

Chuckie and Amelia looked downward as well, also becoming frightened by the height. "Call for your daddy," Amelia said loudly.

Chuckie took a deep breath, and began using the only word that the grown ups could understand him saying. "No! No! No!"

In an instant, Chuckie's parents had run into the backyard, wincing when they saw where the babies had gotten to. Chaz went to fetch a ladder while Kira called up to them that everything was going to be okay.

After being retrieved from the scary tree, Chuckie glared at Kimi firmly, "Don't ever do that again."

"I won't," Kimi promised. "Don't worry." She looked around the backyard. "Ever wonder what's back behind all those rose bushes?" she asked, running off.

"Kimi, no!" Amelia yelled.

"You might get a cut!" Chuckie added.


	6. The Bee

**Early update this week!**

The rosebushes were very prickly, but Amelia and Chuckie knew they had to catch up to Kimi. What if something terrible happened to her? What if there were monsters back there? When they reached the fence on the other side and found Kimi, they both breathed sighs of relief when they saw she was okay.

"Hi, guys!" Kimi waved.

"Kimi," Chuckie said firmly. "You gotta come back out. It's dangerous back here."

Kimi glanced to and fro. "It doesn't look dangerous... You worry too much."

Chuckie looked around as well, seeing only leaves and the roses his first mommy had planted. "I guess you're right, Kimi."

"So, what did you find?" Amelia asked.

Kimi held up a rose she picked.

"Pretty..." Amelia said.

Buzz...

Buzz...

The trio of babies all looked up when they heard the sound. A bug with yellow and black stripes was flying around the roses.

"Bee!" Chuckie exclaimed. "We gotta leave!"

"It doesn't look that mean," Kimi said. "I 'fink it's kinda pretty."

"Bees can hurt you," Chuckie explained nervously. "You're apposed to leave if you see one."

"The bee looks busy with the flowers," Amelia said. "I don't 'fink it's gonna bother us."

Buzz..

Buzz...

"Well..." Chuckie hesitated. "If you're sure..."

The three began picking leaves off of the bush and trying to twist them into various shapes. All the while, the bee kept busy with the flower.

Eventually, the wind started to pick up, harsh breezes ruffled the bushes. The bee buzzed in a more angry, high pitched tone and took flight once again. It zoomed around and around, before landing on Amelia's arm.

"Stay still!" Chuckie said, panicking. "I'll blow it off."

Amelia froze, "O-okay..." she stammered.

Chuckie took a deep breath and began to blow onto Amelia's arm in an attempt to get the bee to leave, the bee did leave, but not before Amelia started to cry.

Amelia cried hard, wailing sobs. It was the worst hurt ever. It was worse than all those times she tripped while learning how to walk. It was worse than when Angelica bopped her on the head with Cynthia. It was worse than when she got her booster shot.

"Amelia!" Chuckie and Kimi yelped in unison.

"I'm sorry!" Chuckie cried. "It's all my fault!"

"No," Kimi sobbed. "It was my idea to come back here!"

Having heard the crying, Chuckie's dad tore into the backyard, and pushed aside the rose bushes to reach the babies. He set them down on the grass and looked them over. Chuckie and Kimi didn't appear to be hurt, but he noticed a swollen, red welt on Amelia's arm, surrounding a small white spot.

Chaz recognized the problem instantly. He had once disturbed a hive of bees while on a campout with Stu and Drew. "Oh no," he said, scooping Amelia up.

Amelia was rushed into the house as fast as possible, still crying. Chuckie's dad brought her to the sink and started to wash her arm off with lots of soap. The soap stung an awful lot, and she cried harder. After having her arm cleaned, Chuckie's dad went to the freezer to get some ice for Amelia. He wrapped the ice up and placed it to her arm.

Chaz put Amelia on the couch while he called her dad.

Chuckie and Kimi toddled into the living room. "Are you okay?" Kimi asked. "Looked like that hurt a lot..."

"It did," Amelia said. "But the ice is making it better."

"I've never been stung before. What's it feel like?" Chuckie asked.

"It's kinda hard to asplain," Amelia said. "It's like when you get a shot, only worse, and you feel kinda dizzy."

Chuckie frowned. He felt terrible that his friend was suffering through something so awful, and he felt partially responsible. He ran off into his bedroom, and dug around in his toybox until he found something. Returning to the living room, he handed it off to Amelia.

Amelia looked over the small, plush butterfly in her hands and smiled.

"Her name's Sasha," Chuckie said. "I want you to have her."

Amelia's eyes welled up with tears once more. "Thank you..."

Chuckie frowned, "Why are you sad? I can find a different toy if you want."

"I'm not sad," Amelia said. "I'm happy, thank you so much!" She climbed off the couch and pulled Chuckie into a big hug.

It wasn't long before Drew arrived to get Amelia.

"I'm sorry this happened," Chaz said.

"It's alright," Drew assured. "These things happen."

"But she was crying so much, I feel awful."

"Don't worry," Drew said. "It's normal to cry. I remember how loud you were wailing on our camping trip."

Chaz narrowed his eyes, "Don't remind me."

Drew chuckled, and bent down to scoop up Amelia, whom was still holding Sasha the butterfly.

Chaz noticed the toy in her hands, and looked at Chuckie. "Did you give your butterfly to your little friend to make her feel better?"

Chuckie nodded.

"That's very sweet of you," Chaz praised.

On the way home, Drew picked up Angelica from Pre-School. "Amelia had something really awful happen to her today, so I need you to be extra nice, okay princess?"

"Sure, Daddy!" Angelica smiled as she climbed into the backseat beside her sister. She noticed Amelia's new toy. "Hey, no fair! Why didn't I get anything?" She whispered sharply.

"This is Sasha," Amelia said. "Chuckie gave her to me 'cuz I got stunged by a bee."

"Hmmm..." Angelica tapped her chin. "Did you know that when bees sting people, they get really sick and die?"

Amelia frowned, she didn't want the bee to die... "That's not true..."

"Yeah it is," Angelica said. "I learnded so at Pre-School."

Amelia sighed, she was starting to feel sad again.

"That little bee is going to die now," Angelica said. "And it's gonna be all your fault."

Amelia started to sniffle, then broke down into tears once more.

"Oh, what's wrong, sweetie?" Drew cooed as he parked at their house. "Did that mean old bee hurt you?" He picked her up out of her car seat. "Well, we'll put some ointment on your arm that will make you feel all better."

The next day, Amelia went to play at Chuckie and Kimi's house again. Noticing she still looked sad, Chuckie asked how she was feeling.

"The bee's dead," Amelia sniffed, hugging Sasha close to her chest. "'Cause of me."

"Why do you 'fink the bee's dead?" Chuckie asked.

"Angelica told me so," Amelia sighed. "She said that bees die after they sting people."

"Maybe Angelica's wrong," Chuckie suggested.

Amelia shook her head, "I don't 'fink so. She goes to pre-school now, she probably knows everything in the whole world."

"Shouldn't you want the bee to get sick?" Kimi tried. "It hurt you."

"But I don't want it to be dead," Amelia sniffled. "What if it had a family that's gonna miss it now?"

"I know!" Chuckie snapped his fingers together. "We'll make something for the bees to tell them we're sorry!"

"Like what?" Amelia asked.

"When Mommy took me to the store to find a birthday card for her old boss, there were all these cards to give to people who've lost someone," Kimi explained. "We should make one of those."

The three set to work, drawing a card featuring a picture of a happy bee resting on a flower. They had tried to write the word 'sorry' on it as well, but none of them knew how to spell so it came out looking kind of jumbled.

"The bees should know what it means," Chuckie assured.

"But how're we gonna get the card to them?" Amelia asked.

"Bees live in hives," Kimi said. "And those look kinda like big pime-cones. All we gotta do is find the hive and stick the card there."

"Okay," Chuckie and Amelia nodded.

The three toddled into the backyard, and looked around on the ground for anything that looked like a beehive.

"I 'fink beehives are normally up in trees," Kimi said, glancing skyward. "There!" she exclaimed, pointing up into one of the trees at a large, buzzing structure. "C'mon!"

"I don't know, Kimi," Chuckie said. "I don't 'fink that's such a good idea."

"Well," Kimi said. "How else're we gonna tell the bees we're sorry." Kimi grabbed the card and started up the tree.

"Kimi," Amelia warned. "Be careful. They might sting you if you get too close."

Kira came running into the backyard, "No, Kimi," she said, taking the baby out of the tree. "That's not a good place for you to play."

Kimi frowned and waved the card at Kira.

Kira took it. "Oh, you drew a bee? How nice. I'll put it on the fridge."

Kimi's frown deepened, she tapped her hand against the tree, then pointed up at the beehive.

"Were you trying to show your picture to the bees?" Kira asked.

Kimi nodded.

"Well, there are other ways to do that. Wait here," Kira reentered the house, and came back out with a roll of tape which she used to tack the paper to the bottom of the tree. "There, now the bees will see it whenever they come down."

Kimi, Chuckie and Amelia smiled at the tree. Hopefully, the bees would understand.


	7. Kimi's Father's Day Dilemma

It was Father's Day and all the babies were hard at work making presents for their daddies. Phil and Lil were coloring a picture together, and Tommy was trying to help Dil do the same, though the younger baby wasn't really getting the hang of it.

"Okay, Amelia," Angelica said authoritatively. "Our Daddy is the bestest daddy in the whole world, so we gotta make him the bestest present we can." Then, in a whisper, she added, "If he likes it enough, he'll probably buy us presents."

Amelia nodded, "So, what are we gonna make him?"

"We're going to draw him a picture of me," Angelica explained. "That way, he'll have two of me."

"Can we draw me too?"

Angelica shook her head, "Well, one is enough of you."

"Oh..."

The two set to work, and after a while Chuckie and Kimi were dropped off, their parents went into the kitchen to talk with Stu. Chuckie started coloring immediately, but Kimi looked troubled.

"What's wrong?" Amelia asked.

"It's Father's Day and I don't know who I'm apposed to make a present for," she explained sadly.

"Our Daddy of course," Chuckie said simply.

Kimi looked down, "But I have another Daddy, Chuckie."

"You do?" Amelia asked. "Where is he?"

"That's the problem. He lives a really long way away from here."

"Why doesn't he live with you anymore?"

Kimi shrugged, "I don't know. He and my Mommy were fighting a whole bunch for a really long time, then all of the sudden he wasn't around."

"How long's it been so you last sawed him?"

"A long time," Kimi answered. "Since before I met you guys."

"Do you miss him?"

"Of course I do," Kimi said. "I love my new Daddy, but I miss my old one too." Kimi explained that she was worried that if she only made a present for Chaz, her biological father, Hiro, would feel left out.

"Less talking, more coloring!" Angelica ordered.

"I have to go," Amelia said apologetically. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Kimi went over to watch what Chuckie was drawing. She wanted to help him, but then what about Hiro? What if she forgot all about Hiro? Or worse, what if he forgot all about her? So, that settled it, she'd have to make a present for Hiro.

But, Chaz had been so nice to her ever since he met her, and was a great dad to her. She couldn't just not give him anything. So, maybe she should make two presents. She just hoped she had enough time.

Her first drawing featured herself, her mommy, Chuckie and her new daddy, all standing in front of a house. Kira and Kimi were on the right, and Chuckie and Chaz were on the left. She had tried to make it look like Kira and Chaz were holding each other's hands. The next was a drawing of Hiro.

Proud, she stood up and showed the picture to Amelia. "See him? This is what my other daddy looks like."

"Cool," Amelia praised.

"I hope there's a way I can give it to him," Kimi said. "And I wish I knew why he left..."

Angelica looked up from her drawing. She was annoyed that Amelia kept getting distracted, and she was even more annoyed at Kimi for causing that distraction. Suddenly, she got an idea, and a smile spread across her face. "I know why he left," she bragged.

"You do?" Kimi asked, hopefully. "How come?"

"He was sick of you," Angelica shrugged.

"Wh-what?"

"I mean, think about it," Angelica said. "Tommy and Dil's daddy is still around 'cause Uncle Stu needs someone to test his inventions out on. Phil and Lil's daddy is still around 'cause they make him laugh. Amelia and my daddy is still around 'cause he needs someone to spoil. Your daddy just couldn't find any use for you, so he left."

"That's not true!" Amelia insisted, trying to comfort Kimi.

"Sure it is," Angelica said. "Why else would a kid just wake up one day and not have their daddy anymore."

Kimi was generally a pretty tough kid. She only cried when something really awful happened, like when she was badly hurt or extremely frightened. She was the furthest thing from a crybaby, but now she couldn't stop the tears from coming.

Kira came rushing into the room and picked her up. "Oh, what's wrong, Kimi?" she cooed. She was fully aware of Kimi's tough demeanor, so knew if the little one was crying, something must have been terribly wrong. "Are you hurt?"

Kimi held onto Kira's arm tightly, sniffling, then pointed at her drawings on the ground.

Kira picked up the one with Chaz first. "Oh, how nice!" she smiled. Then, her eyes drifted toward the second paper, and after a second she recognized who it was. "Oh..." she said. "It's... Hiro... You miss him, don't you?"

Kimi gave a nod.

"I miss him too sometimes," Kira nodded. "I know you don't understand what happened between us and why he no longer lived with us. He was doing some things behind my back that were really upsetting to me, you'll understand when you're older," she assured. "But, I promise you, even if he lives a long way away, he still loves you and cares about you. I'll mail him your picture, I'm sure he'd love it."

Kimi's expression brightened.

Kira picked up the drawings, and headed back for the kitchen.

"You hear that, Angelica?" Kimi said. "He wasn't tired of me!"

"Yeah, that's great, Kimi," Angelica grouched. "Now get lost, we still have to finish our picture."


	8. Dil's Alien

Chuckie, Kimi, Amelia, Angelica, Tommy and Dil were at the park. Angelica was sitting on a bench, styling Cynthia's spriggy hair. The babies were all playing in a sandbox together. Dil had captured everyone's attention as he waved his new toy about.

"It's his favoritest toy," Tommy informed his friends. "Grandpa got it for him."

The toy in question was a little green, plush alien. Dil gurgled with joy as he threw it in the air and caught it once more.

Suddenly, a large shadow loomed over the babies, and they all glanced up to come face to face with a big kid, about four years old. In spite of his age, he was still sucking on a pacifier. "What'cha got there?" he smirked, words slightly muffled by the pacifier.

Dil held the alien to his chest protectively, "MINE!" he answered.

"I don't think so," the big kid chuckled. "I think it's actually MINE," he ripped the alien out of Dil's grasp and ran off with it.

Dil started to cry loudly.

"Poor Dil," Chuckie said sadly.

"That kid's terrible," Amelia agreed. "Just 'cause he's bigger than us and stronger than us, that shouldn't mean he can just take our stuff."

"There's only one thing we can do now," Kimi announced.

Chuckie and Amelia didn't like the sound of that. "What's that?" Chuckie asked warily.

"We gots to go get Dilly's alien back!" Tommy said, triumphant.

"I don't know," Chuckie said. "That doesn't sound like such a good idea."

"Yeah," Amelia agreed. "That big kid might hit us or something."

"We can't just let him keep Dil's toy," Kimi said.

"But we don't even know where he went," Chuckie tried.

Tommy pointed off to his left, "Probably to the big kid playground."

Amelia gasped, "Tommy, we can't go there!"

"We have to!" Tommy said, firmly. "Come on, guys. Let's go."

Reluctantly, Chuckie and Amelia followed Tommy and Kimi out of the sandbox. The portion of the playground used by older children wasn't too far away, but the journey felt long to Amelia as her stomach churned with fear. If all the big kids that hung around there were like the one who took Dil's toy, they were going to be in trouble.

As they toddled into the playground, many heads turned to look at them. All the older kids knew that babies never came around here, the larger structures and monkeybars were way too dangerous for such a young kid to navigate.

The kid who had taken Dil's alien was off to the side, playing with it, the babies approached him.

"Give Dil's toy back!" Tommy ordered.

The big kid looked down at him, sneering. "No."

"Give it back!" Tommy repeated.

"Okay," the big kid folded his arms. "Obviously, you're not from around here, so you don't know how things work. I'm James, and I run this playground. If I want something, you have to let me take it."

"Who put you in charge?" Tommy demanded, angrily.

"My fists!" James replied, punching Tommy in the chest. Tommy fell backwards, and started to cry as James laughed.

"O-okay, Mister Big Kid, sir," Chuckie stammered. "You can keep the alien..."

"No!" Kimi disagreed. "He can't just push people around to get what he wants." She looked up at James with fire in her eyes. "Give Dil's alien back, now!"

"So, you didn't learn your lesson yet?" James chuckled, approaching Kimi, however before he reached her, he stopped, and glanced at Amelia. "Hey... I think I recognize you."

"N-no!" Amelia stuttered, covering her face with her hands. "No, you don't!"

"Yeah," James nodded. "Your big sister's in my pre-school class. She's brought in pictures of you before."

"Y-you know Angelica?" Amelia asked.

James started to laugh, "Oh! This is too rich!"

"What is?" Amelia wondered, voice shaky.

"Just... the idea that Angelica Pickles' sister would be this much of a wimp!" James continued, doubling over.

Amelia stared at him, a sinking feeling deep in the pit of her chest.

James was right.

Angelica would never let someone kick her around like this.

Angelica would never let someone talk to her like this.

Angelica would fight back.

Amelia felt a fire begin to grow within her, and she glared at James, screaming "YOU BIG MEANIE!" she reached down, grabbed a handful of the sand that made up the ground, and hurled it in James' face.

He started to cry, rubbing at his stinging eyes, and dropping the alien.

Kimi made a grab for the toy, and the babies ran off to return it to Dil.

Amelia felt sickened with herself for losing control like that. Was she becoming a bully now?

On the drive home, Amelia told Angelica about what had happened, and if she was turning into a bad person.

Ordinarily, Angelica would have teased her sister, saying that yes, she was turning into a bully, but she'd had to deal with James at school. "Nah, James is a jerk. He needed someone to put him in his place."

"Really?" Amelia asked. "So, I'm not a bully even though a threw sand in his face?"

"No," Angelica assured. "He took you guys' stuff and hit Tommy, it's not bullying if you're fighting back."

And with that, Amelia felt better.


	9. Amelia's Bedtime Blues

Tommy patted his head, feeling the new sprigs of purple hair that were starting to grow in, he held his mother's hand as she knocked on the door to Angelica and Amelia's house. Tommy's father balanced a package in one hand, and Dil in the other.

Today, Amelia was turning two years old. She woke up that day with a bit of apprehension, a lot had changed last year, and even more things were going to change this year.

Turning two meant learning to drink from a cup instead of a bottle. It meant, possibly, finally being able to talk to the grown ups. It meant being potty-trained. At least, she knew what to expect, she supposed. All of her friends, aside from Dil, had already survived most everything on that list.

Chuckie could almost speak in complete sentences to the adults now. Phil and Lil had traded in their diapers for training pants, and said their first words-each other's names. Kimi was already speaking exceptionally clearly for someone her age. Tommy was getting the hang of being without diapers, but still hadn't started talking.

Amelia was worried about tackling all of those things, but knew that with her friends by her side, she shouldn't have too much trouble.

Her birthday party went off without a hitch, she got lots of Reptar stuff, and Angelica helped her blow out the candles. She wasn't even mean about it either, she was being genuinely helpful. Everyone had a great time playing with Amelia's new toys. Finally, Tommy picked up one of the plushes and said, "Reptar!" loudly and clearly.

Tommy's father stood abruptly, "Deed, he's talking!" he announced, hints of pride in his voice.

Tommy's mom ran into the room, "He is?" her face fell. "Oh, I missed it..."

"Reptar, Reptar, Reptar!" Tommy repeated.

His parents smiled broadly, so overjoyed with his progress.

The next day, Amelia started potty-training. She wasn't frightened, as she'd known it was coming, but she was a little nervous about not having her diapers anymore. She didn't want to mess up her parents nice carpets.

It didn't take her too terribly long to get the hang of using the potty during the day, but her real problem came at night. No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to get herself to wake up in time, and more often than not would wake up with wet sheets.

"I guess you know what this means, don't you?" Angelica remarked after Amelia had wet the bed for the fifth night in a row.

"No," Amelia said sadly. "What?"

"It means you're never gonna get potty-trained," Angelica explained. "You're gonna be stuck in diapers forever, which means you're never gonna go to school or get to grow up."

Amelia frowned. She didn't want to be trapped wearing diapers forever. She wanted to be able to grow up and go to school alongside her friends. So, that settled it. She had to find a way to make sure she'd never pee in the bed again.

That afternoon, she and Angelica were dropped off at Tommy's house, and she told her cousin of her troubles.

"Chuckie had that problem for a while too," Tommy said. "'Member?"

"Yeah," Amelia nodded, recalling the night Chuckie had wet the bed. "But that only happened to him once. It's happening to me every night."

"Maybe you should try not to drink as much as normal," Tommy suggested.

Amelia decided that that would be a good idea, and followed Tommy into the backyard. Lately, they had been trying to help Dil learn how to walk. "Try grabbing onto the wall like this," Amelia said, demonstrating.

Dil was able to stand up with the help of the wall, but after a couple steps, he fell back down again.

"That's okay, Dilly," Tommy said. "I'm sure you'll learn to walk soon." He and Amelia ran off to play together.

Dil watched them, feeling left out. He tried again and again to start walking, a determined expression on his face as his frustration grew. Finally, he managed a series of unsteady steps.

"Yay!" Tommy cheered. "You're doing it!"

Dil, feeling proud thanks to his brother's praise, kept walking, and soon his steps evened out.

DeeDee exited the house, carrying cookies and juice for the kids. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of Dil. "Stu!" she yelled. "Come quick!"

Stu darted out of the house, "He's doing it!" he exclaimed. "He's really walking!" He and DeeDee scooped Dil up and took him inside so that they could video-tape him.

Amelia grabbed her juicebox off of the tray, and Angelica approached her, smirking. "Are you sure you should be drinking juice like that?" she teased.

Amelia paused, she knew that she had vowed to drink less before she went to bed, but bedtime wouldn't be for hours. She nodded, and poked the straw into the box.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you," Angelica said. "You know what happens to kids who wet the bed."

Amelia frowned and set the box back down. She was awful thirsty, but figured that it was worth it if it meant she'd get to grow up.

She and Tommy kept playing, and her throat began to feel very dry. Her tongue felt almost as if it was made of cotton, but she didn't dare have even one sip of juice. Eventually, she didn't feel like running anymore. Her head ached terribly and she felt dizzy.

She and Tommy sat down in the sandbox, rolling a ball back and forth. Amelia batted at it half-heartedly.

They looked up when they heard the backdoor opening, and saw Susie emerging. "Hi, Susie!" Tommy waved excitedly.

"Hey..." Amelia added weakly.

"What's the matter, Amelia?" Susie asked in concern. "Are you sick?"

Tommy shook his head, "No. She's just thirsty."

"Want me to get you something to drink?" Susie offered.

"Nuh-uh," Amelia insisted.

Susie's brow knitted in confusion. "How come?"

"'Cause she doesn't want to wet the bed again," Tommy explained. "'Cause if she does, she'll be stuck as a baby forever."

"What?" Susie asked. "That's not true!"

"Yeah it is," Amelia said firmly. "Angelica says so."

"She was lying," Susie said, angrily. "You won't be stuck as a baby forever just because you wet the bed. I did it too when I was your age, and I grew up just fine!"

"You did?" Amelia asked in awe. Susie was so grown up, it was shocking to think that she had suffered through the same problem.

"Yeah," Susie said. "But I grew out of it, and so will you. You should have something to drink, though. My mommy says it's important to drink enough, and she's a doctor."

"Okay," Amelia nodded, and went to get the juice off of the tray.

Susie then stomped over to Angelica. "Why would you tell your sister that she'll never grow up if she wets the bed?"

Angelica shrugged, "'Cause she'll believe anything."

"That was wrong, Angelica."

Angelica scoffed, "It was just a little joke, Susie. You don't have to take everything so seriously."

"'Cause of what you said, she was trying not to drink anything all day!" Susie pointed out. "She coulda gotten real sick!"

Angelica frowned. She hadn't known that something really bad could have happened. "I..."

"Whatever, Angelica," Susie folded her arms. "Like you even care. You'll be happy just so long as you get to laugh at someone for a little while."

Angelica bit her lip. "No, listen. I really didn't know she could have gotten sick. I wouldn't have said anything if I did."

Susie narrowed her eyes. "Well... Just think before you say something next time, okay?"

"Okay..."

The next morning, Amelia woke up in a dry bed. "Angelica!" she cried gleefully. "I did it! I'm dry!"

Angelica smiled at her, "Good job. You're growing up just fine."


	10. Amelia's First Word

Drew and Charlotte were worried. Amelia had turned two almost four months ago, and still hadn't said her first word. They knew that a baby taking an unusually long time to learn how to speak could be an indicator of a learning disability.

"Calm down, Charlotte," Drew tried to sound soothing. "She might just be a little slower to learn than other kids. It's too soon to think she might have a condition."

"But what if it is something serious?" Charlotte asked. "What if she's always going to be behind her peer group?"

"She won't," Drew said firmly. "I'm sure she'll start talking soon enough."

"I just don't want her to have to have a harder life," Charlotte explained. "Slower kids tend to get bullied more often."

"She'll be fine," Drew said once more.

Unbeknownst to them, Amelia was sitting right outside their room, and had heard their whole discussion.

The next day, she was dropped off at the Finster's house while Angelica went to school and her parents went to work. "Chuckie," Amelia began. "Am I slow?"

"No," Chuckie said. "You always run lots faster than me."

"Yeah," Kimi agreed. "Sometimes you can even beat Tommy in a race."

Amelia bit her lip. She was sure that that wasn't the sort of 'slow' her parents had been talking about. "No, I mean, a different kind of slow."

"What other kinds of slow are there?" Chuckie asked.

"I dunno," Amelia shrugged. "I heard my mommy say she was scared I'm slow 'cause I still can't talk to the grown ups."

"Oh..." Chuckie said. "Well, how about you go try to tell my daddy something."

Amelia toddled off to find Chaz, but when she opened her mouth to speak, all that came out was a string of babyish babbling. "Are you hungry?" Chaz asked. "It is almost lunchtime."

Amelia ate her food sadly, propping her head up with one hand. Why couldn't she talk to the grown ups yet? All her friends could, except for Dil. What if she really was always going to be one step behind the other kids her age, like mommy had said?

After lunch, Amelia played with Kimi and Chuckie. She and Kimi tried to see how far they could get their toys- Superthing and Sasha the butterfly- to soar. That did make her feel a little better, but she couldn't shake the worry that she'd never learn how to talk.

When her daddy came to get her, she still felt rather sad. She didn't even talk to Angelica on the drive home. She didn't try to play with her at all for the rest of the day.

"Okay," Angelica said, storming into Amelia's room that night. "What's up with you today? You're acting weirder than usual."

"Angelica," Amelia began. "Am I slow?"

"What?" Angelica asked. "No, of course not."

"Then why can't I talk to the grown ups yet?"

"Well... I..." Angelica paused. "I don't know why. I guess you're just taking longer for some reason."

"But mommy said she was worried that I was a slow learner," Amelia added. "And that I'm gonna get picked on for it."

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think you're a slow learner," Angelica informed. "And so what if you are? If anybody picks on you for it, or tries to make you feel bad, then they're not worth your time." She hugged her sister. "Don't feel bad, okay? Even if it's taking you a while to learn how to talk, you still learned how to walk really fast, remember?"

Amelia gave a small nod.

"You know, you learned to walk even faster than I did," Angelica added.

"I did?"

"Yeah," Angelica confirmed. "Just 'cause you're having trouble learning how to talk doesn't mean you're not really good at lots of other stuff."

Amelia hugged Angelica back. "I love you, Angelica..." she said.

At that moment, Drew had been walking by the door, and let out a loud gasp. "Charlotte!" he exclaimed. "She's talking!"

Charlotte rushed out of her office, still holding her phone. "She is?"

"Yeah," Drew nodded. "Complete sentences, too!"

"That must be what was taking her so long!" Charlotte said proudly. "She wanted to make sure she got everything right before she showed us." She picked her younger daughter up. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so proud of you!"


	11. Amelia's First Crush (Part 1)

**And here we begin the All-Grown-Up era chapters...**

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 _Stupid Nicole._

 _Stupid Nicole._

 _Stupid Nicole._

Ten year old Amelia stomped into her room, letting the door slam behind her. She didn't know why, but something about that Nicole girl was really rubbing her the wrong way. Why did Chuckie want to hang around her all the time? She didn't even know his NAME until he pretended to be someone else...

Angelica entered the room. "What's with all the racket?" she held up her cell-phone. "I'm TRYING to have a conversation here!"

"Sorry, Angelica," Amelia said. "I'm just... frustrated."

"What about?"

"Nicole," Amelia gritted out.

"That girl in your grade?" Angelica asked. "What did she do?"

Amelia paused. Really, she didn't know WHY she disliked Nicole so strongly, only that she wished Chuckie wasn't so enamored with her. "What's so special about her?" she ranted, not realizing she was speaking out loud.

"I dunno," Angelica shrugged sarcastically. "YOU'RE the one talking about her."

"Every time I talk to Chuckie these days, it's 'Nicole this', 'Nicole that'," Amelia went on. "And he had to wear a costume and talk in a fake accent just to get her to notice him!"

Angelica laughed, "Heh, yeah. That was hilarious."

"But there are SOME people who've ALWAYS noticed him, so why's he wasting all this time with HER?"

Angelica tapped a finger to her chin, "Oh, I think I see what's going on here..."

"What?"

"My little sister's got herself her very fist crush!" Angelica smirked.

"What?" Amelia snapped. "No I don't!"

"Sure you do," Angelica chuckled, pointing to an item on Amelia's shelf. "I mean, you've still got that stupid old butterfly he gave you when you were a baby."

Amelia plucked Sasha off the shelf. "Sasha's not stupid," she insisted. "And what's it matter if I still have her?"

"You got rid of ALL your old baby toys, except for that one," Angelica pointed out.

"So?" Amelia asked. "Sasha's special."

"Because Chuckie gave her to you," Angelica concluded. "And you have a crush on him."

"Do not," Amelia insisted.

"Do so," Angelica shot back.

"Do not."

"Do so."

"Do not."

"Do so."

This continued on for several minutes until Angelica's cell phone started to ring. "You work this out for yourself, okay?" she said. "I have to go."

Amelia laid down on her bed. She did not have a crush on Chuckie. She absolutely did not. He was more like a brother to her than anything else. No matter what Angelica thought.

The next day at school, Chuckie chose to sit with Nicole at lunch rather than all his friends, and Amelia grimaced. "I hate her..." she mumbled.

"What's going on with you?" Kimi asked. "You're usually so nice to everyone."

"Yeah," Lil agreed. "What did Nicole do to you?"

"She's just..." Amelia stammered. "Her hair is... it's so brown."

Phil blinked, "Yeah? So's mine and Lil's."

"Well... uh... What's it matter?" Amelia choked out. "I just don't like her, okay?" she started to walk off.

Dil paused, watching her leave. "Guys," he said. "There's only one plausible explanation for this."

"I swear, Dil..." Tommy mumbled. "If you say it was alie-"

"Aliens," Dil said firmly. "I mean, think about it? What OTHER than alien-mind-control could make someone act so much unlike themselves?"


	12. Amelia's First Crush (Part 2)

Deep down, Amelia knew that it wasn't right to be angry with Nicole. If Chuckie liked her, she knew he must have had a good reason. She just wished that Nicole wasn't the only thing on Chuckie's mind these days. As she headed to her next class of the day, Amelia found herself trying as hard as she could to deny that Angelica's assumptions were correct.

 _I don't have a crush on Chuckie,_ she told herself firmly. _I don't._

But, flashes of memories seemed to be insisting otherwise. She'd always spent more time with Chuckie than she did with her other friends. She kept each and every little thing he'd given to her, no matter how small or insignificant. He had been her first kiss.

True, she was very young, and lacked the proper maturity to really understand what a kiss meant, but still... It was her first kiss, and he had been the one to give it to her.

 _It was the day of the big holiday party in Kindergarten. All the kids had had a great time making decorations, and filling out coloring activities. Eventually, the kids from older grades were brought to join in, which meant that Angelica was there as well._

 _The older girl had opted to spend most of her time at the party, bragging to the younger children that she'd seen Santa with her own eyes once, and that he had brought her a Cynthia dollhouse with a working hot tub, satellite dish, entertainment center, and attached garage. Amelia could kind of remember that night as well, but the memory was a little hazy._

 _The kids continued to talk, and eat sweets and play. Until, Angelica darted over to Amelia and Chuckie, pointing above their heads. "Uh-oh! You two're standing under the missile-toes!" She said, gesturing to a bit of mistletoe that had been tacked onto the doorway. "You know what that means!"_

 _Both the younger children shook their heads._

" _It means that now you gotta kiss!"_

" _A plant can't make people kiss each other," Amelia said._

" _Yeah it can!" Angelica insisted. "Those are the rules!"_

 _And so, Chuckie and Amelia did kiss, seeing it as some sort of game._

" _Ha!" Angelica giggled. "Now you've gots cooties!" she teased._

Now, all these years later, Amelia was realizing something. She definitely did have a crush on Chuckie.

She spent the rest of the day perplexed as to what she could do about that. Chuckie had been one of her best friends for as long as she could remember, if she told him how she felt, and he didn't feel the same, things would just wind up being horribly awkward between them. Maybe he wouldn't even want to be her friend at all.

Maybe one of her friends would have some advice for her? She didn't think Tommy, Dil or Phil had ever had a crush on anyone before. She didn't want to admit to her older sister that she had been right, she wouldn't get a chance to see Lil until after school as they were in separate classes. Then, there was Kimi. And there was no way she could talk to her. Amelia tried to imagine how terribly awkward it would be if Phil or somebody came to her and confessed to having a crush on Angelica...

There was, however, one person that she would be seeing soon, and that she might have decent luck getting advice from. Amelia was in advanced math, meaning that she took that class with older students.

When she got to math class, she would ask Susie what to do.


	13. Amelia's First Crush (Part 3)

"Having a crush on a best friend is never easy," Susie remarked. "I can definitely understand why you're apprehensive about telling him."

"So, should I just not say anything?" Amelia wondered.

"Well, holding in your feelings isn't a good idea either," Susie pointed out. "You wouldn't want to keep lashing out at Nicole, would you?"

Amelia shook her head.

"I suggest that you go ahead and let Chuckie know how you feel," Susie suggested. "The worst thing he could say is 'no'." Pausing, and looking slightly saddened, Susie added in a low voice. "You should count yourself lucky for that. Some people who develop crushes on their friends have to worry about something even worse."

"Worse?" Amelia repeated. "Like what?"

Susie shook her head quickly, "Forget I said anything. Just tell Chuckie the truth, and I know you'll feel better."

"Okay..." Amelia said hesitantly. "But, how should I do it?"

"Well, Chuckie isn't really the super-romantic type, I'm sure whatever you choose to do will be fine."

So, after school that day, Amelia went over to the Finster's house. "Hi, Amelia," Kimi greeted. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," Amelia stuttered. She didn't feel angry anymore, though whether or not this current stew of nervousness and apprehension she was dealing with was any better was quite debatable. "Is Chuckie home?"

Kimi nodded, "He's in his room."

Amelia made her way into Chuckie's room, she had been rehearsing the most romantic, poetic love confession she could come up with all day, but now that the moment was rapidly approaching, she found herself forgetting most of it. She really should have written it down or something. "Chuckie?" she asked.

"Hi, Amelia," Chuckie greeted. "You're not still mad at me, are you?"

"N-no!" Amelia stammered. "Just the opposite- Uh, I mean- I was never really mad at you- I was- I was being a jerk. I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven," Chuckie assured. "But, what was that all about?"

"Well... That's actually what I came here to talk to you about. I... Well... You see... The thing is... I kind of..."

"You're okay, right?" Chuckie asked, concerned at his friend's nervous demeanor.

"I like you, alright?" Amelia said quickly, the words all jumbling together.

"You..."

"And not just as a friend," Amelia added.

"You have a crush on me?" Chuckie asked.

Amelia nodded.

"Wow... You mean it?"

"Yes..."

"Well, this is kind of confusing, honestly," Chuckie said. "I still like Nicole, but I like you too, and-"

Amelia grabbed hold of Chuckie's hand and squeezed it, "I won't be mad if you choose her over me."

Chuckie looked down at their hands, "Well... I do know one thing... I really like holding your hand."

Amelia grinned a mega-watt smile. Things were starting to look like they were headed in the right direction.

But... One thing Susie had said earlier was still on her mind.

" _You should count yourself lucky for that. Some people who develop crushes on their friends have to worry about something even worse."_

Did Susie have a crush on one of her friends, too? Who could it be? And what had she meant when she said 'something even worse'? All of that could be worked out later, Amelia decided. For now, she just wanted to spend time with Chuckie.


	14. Apology

Sorry for the lack of updates the last few weeks. I have been very busy with my new job and haven't had the time to write. But, rest assured Big Sister Angelica will be returning. I'm not sure when, but it should be soon.


End file.
